Extract department code with LEFT

SKU codes often bundle multiple pieces of information together, and LEFT helps you pull out the part you need.

In this exercise, you'll use the LEFT function to extract the department code from the beginning of each SKU.
Related text functions include RIGHT (from the end) and MID (from the middle), but here you'll focus on LEFT.

LEFT extracts a set number of characters from the start of a text string:

=LEFT(text, num_chars)

• text – the cell containing the text you want to extract from
• num_chars – how many characters to take from the left

For example: =LEFT("ABCDE", 3) returns "ABC"

What you need to do

1. Click cell B2 (the first empty cell in the Department code column).
2. Enter a LEFT formula that extracts the department code from the SKU in A2.
3. Press Enter. Cell B2 should show only the department letters.
4. Copy your formula down through B8 to fill in all the department codes.

Goal

Column B should show the department code for each SKU in column A.